40 



CLASS M A M M A L I A. 



ORDER RODE NT I A. 



6. CHEIEOMYS (Gr. \cip, a hand, and pvt, a mouse). Lower incisors 

 very narrow and much extended behind, resembling ploughshares; feet 

 pentedactylous, four of the toes on the anterior much elongated, and the 

 middle one very slender ; on the posterior the thumb is opposable to all 

 the toes. 



7. CHLOROMYS (Gr. \\upoc, green, and /iCc, mouse). Four grinding 

 teeth on either side ; those of the upper jaw sloped on the inner edge, those 

 of the lower on the outer edge ; four toes before and three behind, which 

 are twice as long as the former, and of them the middle toe rather the 

 longest. 



8. CCELOGENUS (Gr. coi'Xoc, follow, and yiwe, a cheek). Four grinding 

 teeth on each side, of a rounded shape ; four toes, with a very small one 

 on the inner edge of the fore feet, and five on those behind ; deep hollow 

 in the cheek. 



9. HYDROCHCERUS (Gr. vSwp, water, and \olpoc, a pig). Nose sharp, 

 obliquely truncated at the tip, and flattened from above ; upper lip entire ; 

 molar teeth four on each side in each jaw ; body covered with rough wiry 

 hair, tailless ; feet half webbed, four toes before and three behind, furnished 

 with claws. 



10. LOXCHERES (Gr. Xrfyx'J' a spear, and aipu, to take). Incisive teeth 

 two, above and below, chisel-shaped ; molars grinding, five on each side ; 

 muzzle sharp, compressed : ears short, rounded, naked ; body hairy, inter- 

 mingled above with long, flattened spines, having lancet-like edges ; tail 

 long, scaled, and hairy ; feet four-toed in front, with a flat thumb-nail, 

 five-toed behind ; claws curved. 



11. SPALAX (Gr. avaia, I root out). Incisive teeth in each jaw two, 

 chisel -shaped ; molar teeth three on a side in each jaw, tubercular ; aper- 

 ture of the mouth very narrow, and upper lip deficient : muzzle flat above 

 and rounded in front ; no external aperture in the skin for eyes ; no auricles, 

 but the auditory passage surrounded with a cartilaginous ring, and almost 

 entirely hidden in the fur ; neck very short, and of equal bulk with the 

 cylindrical body ; tail deficient ; legs short, five-toed, their nails weak, flat, 

 and slightly curved. 



HEMICLAVICULATA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



LEPUS Hare, Rabbit, The Hares are generally remarkable for their 

 extreme timidity ; but their inability to save themselves from the attacks 

 of their enemies by resistance has been amply compensated by the quick- 

 ness of their hearing and sharpness of vision, which warn them of the 

 coming danger, and by the swiftness of foot with which they are endowed 

 in order to escape, it They never run, but their motions consist of a suc- 

 cession of leaps more or less extended, according to the speed with which 

 the animal moves ; for this purpose is given the great length and strength 

 of their hind legs, which very much exceed those before; they are further 

 assisted by the extreme flexibility of the spine, which enables them to 

 bring the hind feet even before the front, and thereby throw the body for- 

 ward with a much stronger and greater spring ; and to give an idea of the 

 prodigious leaps they make, it may be here mentioned, that one species 

 has been known to pass over twenty-five feet at a single bound. This 

 structure, though well adapted for moving on a level surface, and much 

 more for going up hill, is disadvantageous for descent ; and, consequently, 

 if a Hare descend a steep place at speed, she may be noticed rolling over 

 and over frequently before she reaches the bottom. 



The general colour of the genus approximates more or less to reddish or 

 greyish brown, dependent on the colours with which each hair is commonly 

 tinged, being usually black at the root, tawny in the middle, and greyish 

 at the tip. Many of them, however, change colour in the winter, and 

 become mostly white : this happens in such as are located in cold climates ; 

 and in some which live in high northern latitudes, the coat is always white. 

 It does not appear that this change from the darker summer colours to the 

 wintry white is effected by the shedding of the coat and putting out of 

 fresh fur, but by an actual change in the colour of the fur itself. Having 

 once changed, however, there is no recurrence to the original colour, but 



the coat continues the same till cast in the spring, when the dark summer 

 colour is put forth, which is subsequently changed in the autumn. 



The animals composing this genus are herbivorous : they feed at night, 

 and may be seen, when the moon shines, gambolling about with great 

 vivacity. It is a very curious fact with regard to Rabbits, that if once 

 domesticated, they lose their disposition to burrow, and the produce of 

 tame Rabbits do not attempt such a proceeding for several generations. 

 Hares and Rabbits are used for food, and their hair is employed largely in 

 the manufacture of hats, excepting some of the finer kind of Rabbits, of 

 which the skin, after being dressed, is converted into fur. 



Various have been the endeavours to arrange the species of this genus 

 under the two divisions of Hares and Rabbits ; but though every one is 

 fully capable of distinguishing the one from the other, yet still so close is 

 the resemblance between them, that it is extremely difficult to point out 

 any distinctive characters. Besides which, the habits of the two genera so 

 closely resemble each other, that it may be matter of doubt whether there 

 is any advantage in separating them. 



The subgenera are True Hares (Lepores), and the Calling Hares 

 (Lagomures). The former have incisor teeth chisel-shaped; tail varying 

 in length, but distinct. Species the Common Hare (L. Timidus), which 

 measures about twenty-two inches in length, has the ears about a tenth 

 longer than the head. The Buck, or Jack Hare, is distinguished among 

 sportsmen by his head being shorter, his ears greyer, and his shoulders 

 redder than the Doe. 



The Hare does not pair, but pursues the female by scent ; they breed 

 during the whole year, except about eight or ten weeks in the severity of 

 the winter. The female goes about a month, and usually brings two, but 

 sometimes three or four, and a rare instance is mentioned of seven at one 

 kindle. When more than two are dropped, it has been observed that there 

 is a white star on the forehead. When about to kindle, she seeks a thick 

 brake, where she makes her nest and suckles the young about twenty days, 

 from which time they separate in search of food, and make their seat about 

 sixty or eighty paces apart. Shy and timid as they are, Hares may be 

 domesticated, and even become attached to the persons by whom they are 

 brought up. A very interesting account is given by Cowper, the poet, of 

 three young Leverets which he tamed and brought up, and apparently 

 without any great trouble. 



In fighting, Hares strike with their feet, drumming upon the offender in 

 a rather unmerciful manner. They live six or seven years ; indeed, 

 of Cowper's tame ones, one lived nine and the other twelve years. The 

 old ones are known by the spreading of the cleft in the upper lip, the 

 blunt, rugged claws, the dry, tough ears, and the closeness of the bones in 

 the knee-joints ; on the contrary, in the young, the cleft is narrow, and the 

 claws smooth and sharp. (Plate 13.) 



The Rabbit (L. Cuniculus) is of less size than the Common Hare, and 

 has the ears, which are nearly naked, a little shorter than the head. They 

 are found in the temperate and hot parts of Europe, and in the hottest 

 regions of Asia and Africa. They are not originally natives of America, 

 but in the southern part of that continent thrive as rapidly as in England. 

 They are incapable of bearing cold, so that even in Sweden they require to 

 be kept within the house. 



Rabbits are extremely prolific, even to a proverb, littering six or seven 

 times in a year, and bringing six or eight at each litter ; from which Pen- 

 nant has calculated that if not interfered with, the descendants of a single 

 pair will amount to 1,274,840 in the course of four years, calculating at 

 eight to each of the annual seven kindles ; a number which Daniel considers 

 overrated, as the wild Rabbit never produces more than eight at two suc- 

 cessive kindles, and rarely above five. In Minorca they are very numerous, 

 but their flesh is so rank as to be unfit for food ; and in order to keep 

 down their numbers, each individual is called out two days in a year to 

 destroy them. 



The Rabbit goes with young thirty or one-and-thirty days, but frequently 

 kindles out of the warren, on account of the danger to which they would 

 be there exposed from the buck's unnatural aversion to them. She digs a 



